St John the Baptist, Eltham High Street, London SE9 1DH

Sunday 1st July

ST JOHN’S PATRONAL FESTIVAL AND SUMMER FAIR
A big thank you to everyone who helped out at our wonderful summer fair last month. The event raised more than £730, a fantastic achievement.

DEANERY SUMMER PARTY
The Eltham & Mottingham Deanery Summer Tea Party will be held on Sunday 15th July from 3pm to 5pm at All Saints Church in New Eltham. People are invited to bring something to share, but are also welcome to just bring themselves.

MARION SMITH
Many longstanding members of St John’s will remember Marion Smith, who sadly died on 20th June. Marion’s funeral will be held at St John’s on Friday 13th July at 2pm, followed by a service at Falconwood Crematorium at 3.15pm. Our church secretary for many years, Marion had also lived in the neighbourhood of St Francis Church, Hornpark, and with her husband gave much service to the church and the community there.

We’re delighted to see growing numbers of children coming to our church. With our Junior Church classes now quite crowded, we encourage parents to leave children aged 3 and up in the care of class leaders. This allows parents to remain in church and participate in the service. We’re also looking for people to help run Junior Church classes. If you’d like to get involved, or if you have any questions, please speak with Alex MacKenzie or Fr Jim.

GROWING IN FAITH AND LIFE
Applications are open for the Bishop’s Certificate in Discipleship 2018-19, a course with six modules that takes place from September to next June. Entitled ‘Growing in Faith and Life,’ the course is for anyone wishing to read the Bible with more understanding, reflect on their journey as a Christian, and deepen their response to God in prayer, worship and service. It concludes with a residential weekend at Wychcroft in Surrey. Application forms are available from Southwark Diocese at ministryandtraining@southwark.anglican.org. If you have any queries, please speak with Fr Jim or with Cindy Shipp, who did the course last year.

ST PAUL’S SUNDAY FORUMS
St Paul’s Cathedral is running a series of free ‘Sunday Forums’ as part of its adult learning programme. The lunchtime events invite some of the liveliest contemporary theologians and spiritual teachers to speak about the challenges, contradictions and joys of being a Christian in the world today. At 1pm today, Selina Stone, a lecturer in political theology at St Mellitus College, will lead a discussion on ‘Was Jesus Political?’. On 2nd September, writer Eve Poole will explore the themes of her book, ‘Buying God: Consumerism and Theology’. For more information, visit stpauls.co.uk/learning-faith/adult-learning/sunday-forum.

PARISH SUPPORT FUND
People sometimes ask how the church is financed. The Parish Support Fund, or PSF, is the method through which the churches in the diocese contribute to a central pot of money, which helps pay for their ministry. While each church aims to cover its costs, most can’t, and the wealthier churches support them through the PSF. St John’s contributes about 50% of its costs and aspires to become self-funding. Letters from the Parochial Church Council treasurer about stewardship are available for all – if you haven’t received yours, please speak to Fr Jim.